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Falcons wide receiver Calvin Ridley shocked the NFL world on Monday when news broke that he was caught gambling on games last year, which resulted in him being suspended for the 2022-2023 season.
On Monday's ESPN NFL Live, Marcus Spears made some disappointing comments regarding the circumstances.
Spears said:
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“Yeah, we talked about the receiving group and implications on the Atlanta Falcons. Guys, I’m disheartened by this one. This one hurt me because I've had multiple conversations with Calvin when he was at Alabama, I covered him in college. And to have a senseless act like this caused you to miss a year after you've dealt with personal issues and also injuries the year previous to that is just senseless man. And I know like, I don't want to come over here and pile on. Obviously, he's been suspended and a lot of things are gonna be said and a lot of things are gonna transpire. But to the point of the Falcons listen. Franchises get along, they weren’t going to win no damn thing anyway."
Spears also added that it is a huge deal that Ridley got suspended for sports betting, and it's more severe than just a one-year suspension.
Spears said:
"So I'm focused on Calvin Ridley. Like, where are you? Where are you from the standpoint of not reading the room and understanding that this is the absolute worst when it comes to sports? This is not just catered to this year... Betting in sports has been one of the most egregious things that we've seen from players while they're in a league. They've been fighting the last 40 years to get Pete Rose in the Hall of Fame in baseball because he bet when he was playing baseball. This is huge. This is not just something you shake a stick at. ‘Oh, Calvin Ridley out one year he’ll be back.’ I am interested to see how franchises will look at this going forward. His career may be hanging in the balance, let alone being suspended one year from gambling on betting while he's a player in the league.”
Multiple teams reached out with interest in trading for Calvin Ridley before he got suspended
Since last year, Calvin Ridley has been a name to watch out for on the trade market. After he sat out last year after five games due to mental health issues, the chances of him being moved the following season increased, and the off-season rumors started to go around after the season ended.
According to ESPN's Adam Schefter, multiple teams were interested in Ridley, but Atlanta decided not to reach out.
Schefter wrote on Twitter:
"Multiple NFL teams reached out to the Falcons in recent weeks to inquire about trading for Calvin Ridley, and each time, Atlanta declined to enter into any talks out of good faith, knowing the issues in store for their standout wide receiver, per sources."
